debunk

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The Word of the Day for November 16 is: 

debunk   \dee-BUNK\   verb
     : to expose the sham or falseness of 

Example sentence:
     The book debunks many longstanding myths surrounding the historical event.

Did you know?
     If you guessed that "debunk" has something to do with "bunk," meaning 
"nonsense," you're correct. We started using "bunk" at the beginning of the 
20th century. (It derives from a remark made by a Buncombe county, N.C., 
congressman.) A little less than 25 years later, "debunk" was first used in 
print for the act of taking the "bunk" out of something. There are plenty of 
synonyms for "debunk," including "disprove," "rebut," "refute," and the 
somewhat rarer "confute." Even "falsify" can mean "prove something false," in 
addition to "make something false." "Debunk" itself often suggests that 
something is not merely untrue, but also a sham; one can simply disprove a 
myth, but if it is "debunked," the implication is that it was a grossly 
exaggerated or foolish claim.





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